Grandmaster Ziaur Rahman passed away after suffering a heart attack during the 12th round of the National Chess Championship in Dhaka on Friday evening.
Fellow chess players and officials then rushed him to the Ibrahim Cardiac Hospital in Shahbag, but the doctors could not save him.
He was 50 years old. Ziaur Rahman received the FIDE title of Grandmaster in 2002.
In 2022, he made history by representing Bangladesh in the 44th Chess Olympiad with his son, Tahsin Tajwar Zia. They were the first father-son duo to be on a national chess team.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Friday expressed shock and sorrow at the death of the country’s renowned GM Ziaur Rahman.
Nitin Narang, President of All India Chess Federation, expressed “heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, and the entire chess community in Bangladesh.”